Shortly after the news broke that a series of explosions ripped through the Ruihai International Logistics warehouse in Tianjin last week, company president Yu Xuewei and vice-chairman Dong Shexuan were detained at the Tianjin No.1 Detention Centre, according to state media. By last Thursday, eight more executives were arrested over the incident (four of whom were hospitalised by the explosions).On Tuesday afternoon, police also launched investigations into corruption charges against Yang Dongliang, the director of the State Administration of Work Safety and former vice-mayor of Tianjin. A state administration report, detailing the career of Yang, alleges a “serious violation of discipline” on his part in the wake of the explosion.The disaster in Tianjin has been worsened by the fact that the Ruihai International Logistics warehouse was found to be violating safety regulations, The Guardian reports. The company, established in 2011, received a license for handling hazardous chemicals only two months before the disaster took place. Chemicals stored there included 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide, 800 tonnes of ammonium nitrate and 500 tonnes of potassium nitrate, none of which should have been stored within 1km of residential property.As a result, residents have staged protests for the government to pay for damages and are requesting that the government disclose a list of names for the injured and deceased.It seems that now the two shareholders of Ruihai International Logistics are in custody, including chairman Liang with 55 percent of holdings and Shu Zheng, who held 45 percent.by Dan Cunningham